Return
by Summer Leigh Wind
Summary: Tyson's grandpa just died, but it seems with the strange return of his aloof teammate, he's going to have bigger problems on his plate than just trying to cope with his gramps's death.
1. Chapter 1

_**Return**_

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><p>Tyson Granger was twenty-four, almost twenty-five, with a useless degree in phys. ed and living in an apartment with his latest girlfriend when he got a call in the early morning from one of the city's hospital to tell him his grandfather was there following a stroke he had that evening while out shopping.<p>

Slipping out of bed and ignoring his girlfriend's questioning, Tyson cursed the hospital for not calling him earlier as he rummaged around in the dark for a pair of jeans and a jacket. In the night, he felt a slim hand take his wrist. Turning quickly, he almost considered slapping it away, but Cho's brown eyes were glittering from the streetlight outside and Tyson was reminded once again how much he loved her.

"What's happening baby?" She asked in tired, smoker roughened voice.

Turning his wrist so he can grasp her hand and run his Beyblade-calloused thumb over the back of it, Tyson smiled with quivering lips. "Gramps is in the hospital," he whispered.

Gaze widening, she released his hand to wrap her sleep-warmed body around him instead. "Oh baby.." she soothed with a gentle stroking up and down his back. Taking the offered comfort for a moment, Tyson tucked her under his chin and inhaled the smell of cigarettes and lavender soap. This is why he loved Cho. She knew when to talk to him and when to just _touch _(Hilary never had).

After a little while, he let her go and cleared his throat. "I gotta go," he said.

"D'you want me to come with?" Tyson's girlfriend questioned him with one hand still curled around a loop in his jeans.

He kissed her. Then Tyson let her go and shook his head, "Naw, you stay and get some sleep. I'll swing by late tomorrow morning for you if he's not doing better."

Cho hesitated, but nodded and fell back into their bed. "Okay Ty," she agreed.

"See you later babe," He murmured leaning in to get one last kiss.

Gladly, she gave it and Tyson broke it off a moment later and headed out.

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><p>"We're sorry, but he's..." the doctor tapped his pen on his clipboard and looked to the old man hooked up to a host of wires and beeping machines. "He's not going to get better Mr. Granger."<p>

Running a hand through his hair, Tyson took a step closer and begged "Isn't there _something _you could do? He's not _that _old-"

"Son," the doctor cut in with scowling jowls and squinted eyes; "He's _ninety-one_, most people can't even fathom being alive that long."

Deflating where he stood, he looked to his grandpa and remembered all the good stuff he'd done for him over the years, from taking him in, to supporting him, loving him, being a _father _when all he should have had to do was spoil him rotten and tell him stories about kids from "his" day. Tyson's grandpa had been the most important person in all his life and he just _couldn't_-

"G-Gramps.." he whimpered as he fell to his knee and took one of his frail, papery hands in his work-toughened ones. "Gramps, you _can't _die. You just _can't_."

The doctor, still there, patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry Mr. Granger," he sighed. "Truly."

Wiping away the tears, Tyson put on a shaking smile and looked up at the tired physician. "You did what you could," he told him, "Thanks for keeping him stable long enough for me to get here."

The doctor nodded. "You're welcome," and with little else to offer, took his leave and left Tyson to tell his goodbyes.

A few hours later, he got off the hospital floor to find a nurse; when he found one he asked for a phone to call his girlfriend.

She handed one to him with a quick instruction on how to dial out of the hospital and Tyson punched in the number he knew by heart and listened to it ring for a beat when-

"Hi?"

Leaning back on the nurses' station, Tyson gazed up at the ugly ceiling tiles and told Cho; "He's dying. Gramps is dying."

"Oh Tyson!" She cried.

Blinking back his own tears, he chuckled. "I know? Isn't it unbelievable?" All he heard was her sniffling on the other end - not that he blamed Cho. She and gramps had gotten along great. They shared a love of swords and dated pop music so strongly that sometimes Tyson had felt jealous listening to them talk. It wasn't _fair _that _his _girlfriend laughed more with his grandpa than she did with him.

He got over it eventually, of course.

Listening to her quiet whimpering, Tyson stole himself and said "Can you call Max? See if he'll come down here with you? The two of you should get the chance to say goodbye too."

"O-Of course, Ty," she agreed. "I'll see you in a while," she whispered.

"Bye," he concluded before hanging up.

Going back to his gramp's room, Tyson pulled over the room's two chairs and a sturdy looking corner table before sitting down and taking his grandpa's hand once again. Giving it a little squeeze, he mumbled "Hang in a bit longer gramps, Cho and Max are coming..."

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><p>Hours and hours later, Max and Cho's visit long past, Tyson finished with the paperwork they'd given him after his grandpa passed on to the next world and began the chilly walk home on the city streets. The night was dark, lit up only by street lights and the occasional neon bar sign; but he didn't really mind. It fit better with his mood of depression and grief.<p>

Why should the stars shine brightly when one of the good men were gone?

Why should a moon give hope when there was none in his heart?

Ty didn't know and so he was grateful.

Deciding to take a shortcut through an alleyway that he probably wouldn't have usually taken in the light of day, he heard a trashcan tumble over and saw a small shape fall into his path. It was too big to be an animal, too small for a full-grown man, but it was also much too slender to be a woman. Leaning down, Tyson counted his blessing and asked;

"Hey, are you alright?"

The little figure jolted and probably would have ran if he hadn't snagged loose cloth. Using it as leverage, Tyson pulled the small frame against him and quickly realized it was a kid. A boy one. Probably the same age as some of his oldest students at the beyblade studio. Rummaging for his cell, Tyson tried to sooth the little beast.

"Hey kiddo, it's cool, I'm cool, alright?"

The small frame bent harshly and Ty yelped as teeth sank into his arm. Clicking on his flashlight app at the same time that he yanked away from the kid, the bright light shined onto the small figure and he saw the kid for who he was.

"Kai?" He gaped.

The round face with dual-tone bangs dipping into his features, glared back with harshly clenched fists.

"What's it to ya?" He growled.

Tyson reached out to touch him. To see if he was _real_, but Kai, the quick bastard, knew exactly what he was planning and stepped out of range once again. "Kai? Do you remember me? I'm Tyson," he inquired slow and warm.

The boy shook his head. "I don't know _anybody_."

"Okay," he sighed, "Okay." Scratching his head as the boy thrummed with pent up adrenaline and likely ready to flee, Tyson did his best to think quick. "If I can name your bit-beast will you come and sleep on my couch at my apartment until after breakfast tomorrow?"

Carmine eyes leery, he crossed his arms with a bravo that guys twice his age still had trouble pulling off. "Will you be 'sleeping' on the couch too?" He demanded.

Tyson didn't know if he should laugh or be horrified. In the end, he decided answering the question was the best way to go about things and so said to the boy. "No, I'll be sleeping in my bed. With my girlfriend, Cho."

"So what's it's name?"

"What?" He sputtered.

Irritated, Kai flicked his bangs from his eyes and sneered at him. "What's my bit-beasts name you fatso?"

A surprised chuckle being drawn from him, Tyson wanted to be insulted, but realized with grown-clarity this was just Kai's way of trying to put himself in control of the situation. "It's Dranzer," he replied with small smile. "She's a phoenix."

Carmine eyes large, the boy seemed to waver where he stood. Like he didn't know if he should uphold his end of the bet or if he should just run like he'd wanted to all along. Tyson made the decision for him. Throwing an arm around the narrow shoulder, he lead him out of the alleyway with one last promise. "Trust me Kai, my couch is going to be the most comfortable offer you're going to get tonight."

Allowing himself to be taken along, the boy looked up through his lashes and remarked; "I don't know, I've gotten a couple of nicer offers already tonight - and they were promising me beds."

Tyson knew he was just arguing for the sake of being stubborn, but he hated how, well, _nonchalantly _Kai threw the information out there for Tyson. It made him wonder how they or any of the adults involved in the beyblade tournaments let the boy disappear as he did when they were young. Could he blame it all on more innocent days? Or on Kai being the oldest of them? No, he didn't think so and that, that made Tyson just a little more than sick to his stomach.

Just who _had _cared about his ex-teammates well-being?_  
><em>

Who cared about it _now_? He didn't - or rather _hadn't - _until now.

Looking down on the dual-toned head of the boy briskly walking beneath his arm, Tyson wondered just what had happened to his ex-teammate and how not a single one of their old teammates had thought to question the prolonged silence from Kai. His contact with them since their tournament days had always been sporadic, but if Tyson thought hard enough about it, he hadn't heard from Kai in almost a year and a half. Shouldn't that have tipped him - or _someone _off?

_No_, a voice in his head whispered, _you just thought he was being an ass_.

And didn't that just hit it right on the nose? Despite calling him teammate and _friend_, deep down they'd never been able to change their first impression of Kai; he would always and forever always be the cold, jerk-Sargeant that they secretly wished would just _disappear_.

Kai had too, until now, anyway.

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><p><strong>It's been <em>such <em>a time since I wrote beyblade. I almost feel silly doing it again...but this itch has been nagging me for a while and here's the result of it for your eyes to see.**

**I don't know when another chapter will show up, but I hope this one will keep you sated for a while.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Return**_

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><p>When Cho woke up, her boyfriend wasn't beside her. Now, on a normal day she wouldn't think anything of Tyson's absence; his work started with the sun (despite his best attempts to persuade the owners of the beyblade studio he worked at differently). But today was Sunday and Gramps was <em>dead<em>. Tears pricking at her eyes, Cho brought a hand to her mouth to hold back the heaving sobs. She didn't like tears. Outright sobbing even less.

So taking several large and shaky breathes, Cho managed to calm herself down enough to look away from her knees and to the open doorway. Craning her neck, she didn't see anything, but upon straining her ears she heard the sound of someone in the kitchen. Curious, she slipped out of her and Tyson's bed and put on the fuzzy purple robe Ty had gotten her for Valentines day last month and shuffled to the kitchen to find her boyfriend at the oven.

Peaking over his shoulder, she saw a curious combination of food. The usual miso was on the stove top - as was the rice - but he was cooking what appeared to be porridge too.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, Tyson swore;

"Fuck!"

She barely missed a spray of rice from his spoon. But, before she could ask about his sudden outburst, a young, coarse voice asked;

"What's wrong?"

Letting go of Tyson, Cho shifted her back against the counter and saw a kid about thirteen or fourteen in one of her boyfriend's shirts and socks standing tall and critical.

Tyson slipped a hand between the cupboard and patted her butt (which she promptly glared at him for); "Nothing Kai, this is Cho. She just surprised me."

"Oh," he murmured studying her. Then with a smirk, he remarked; "You know, she's almost too pretty for a fatso like you."

Tyson chortled and maneuvered Cho so she was leaning against him instead. "Hey, don't insult my girl like that kid. Cho's _way _too pretty for me."

"Damn right," she agreed as she turned away from the youth standing in her and her boyfriend's kitchen to demand an explanation. "Ty, why is there a kid in your shirt in _our _apartment?"

His hands moved up to hold her face. "I know him and -" his voice dropped to little more than a rumble "I'll explain _how _later."

"Okay," she relented. It wasn't ideal, but Tyson rarely got so serious and so she was willing to trust him on this. Spinning around, she gestured Kai to take the extra chair that Max sat in when he came over for dinner sometimes. "Ready to eat Kai?" She inquired.

Moving forward slowly, he took the chair and asked "D'you have coffee?"

"Yeah," Tyson answered as he put breakfast down on the table. "But you gotta eat something too, okay? None of that crap about not being hungry! You're a growing boy!"

Kai's carmine eyes took on a mulish glint. "What if I don't like what you've made?" He demanded.

It was on the tip of Cho's tongue to say tough look and that he was a _guest _and should eat whatever Tyson made, but her boyfriend had a different method. Leaning in close to Kai's face, he told him, "Then we'll find something you do."

"Oh," was the boy's uncomfortable reply as he moved his eyes carefully to their dishes. Pointing at the porridge, he told Ty "I'll have that."

Grinning, Cho's boyfriend handed him the dish and a serving spoon. "Great," he smiled.

Next, he brought over three mugs and the pot of coffee.

"You can't be serious about giving a _kid_ coffee," Cho grumbled as she heaped sugar into her beverage.

Tyson shrugged at her before he winked at Kai. "You're grown enough for coffee, aren't ya Kai?"

Picking up the now filled mug, the boy closed his eyes as he took a long sip of the bitter drink.

"I'd say that answers that," her boyfriend chuckled as he served himself breakfast.

Cho, on the other hand, was slightly appalled that a kid just shy of half her age could drink it straight without the usual additives.

For the next half hour, they ate in relative silence until Tyson wiped his mouth and said to Kai; "I was thinking I'd go to the beyblade studio I work at for extra practice, would you like to come Kai?"

Carmine eyes narrowed. "What do you want from me in return?"

"Nothing dude," Ty told the suspicious child.

It was evident in the way Kai crossed his arms that he didn't believe him one bit. "Do you work for my grandfather?" He demanded suddenly.

Her boyfriend made a disgusted noise. "No!" He scoffed. "I wouldn't work for that sicko in a million years!"

Kai blinked, appearing to have been startled by Tyson's conviction.

"Hey," Ty murmured; "All I want to is for you to stick around here a little longer." reaching over, he attempted to squeeze the boy's shoulder; Kai had different ideas and slapped Cho's boyfriend's hand away with lighting-like reflexes.

She covered her mouth and Tyson looked at his hand sadly. "You were on the _streets_, kid," her boyfriend whispered. "I don't want to see you go back to them."

He gazed at them both for a very long time whilst saying nothing. Then, with calculated tone, declared with far too much clout; "I'll stay for a couple more days and no longer - _unless _you can figure out how I ended up here in Japan when I should be in Russia."

Tyson nodded. "You got a deal, Kai," he smiled as he offered a hand to the boy.

Kai accepted the appendage this time and shook it.

"Why don't you take a shower?" Cho suggested; surprising more than just the males. "We can clean up from breakfast."

Reluctant, the boy nodded. "Sure," he concurred as he got up and went to find their bathroom.

Once they were completely and assuredly alone, Cho turned on her boyfriend. "Where the hell did you pick that kid up!?" She hissed at Tyson.

He put both his hands up and took a step away from the sink. "On the street, I ran into him."

"And you decided to bring him back to our _home_!?"

His face suddenly turning very serious, he left the kitchen and whirling around, Cho yelled; "What are you doing!?"

No answer came and a couple minutes later, her boyfriend returned with a picture in hand.

"Take a look at this kid," he demanded; point at one off to the side from the rest.

Looking at it, Cho covered her mouth and saw that the child in the picture looked just like-

"That's Kai there," Ty told her with warmth in his voice. Then leaning in closer, he whispered; "and _that _Kai is now in our bathroom."

With large eyes and trembling legs, she fell back agains the sink and questioned her boyfriend "how-"

"I don't know," he cut off. "All I do know is I need to start calling up our friends and acquaintances to see if they've seen anything suspicious going on or have heard from Kai lately."

Reaching out to hug Tyson, she whispered into his chest. "Oh Tyson...this couldn't be happening at a worse time, could it? Gramps is dead and now you have to figure this - this - _thing _out."

His hand almost hurts from how hard he grips her; Cho, however, doesn't mind. She understands.

"I'll deal," he breathed into her hair. "I'll deal."

She chuckled, then whimpered. "He's been barely gone half a day and I already miss him," she shared with Tyson. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you..."

He pulled away to smile at her. "I haven't given it too much thought since - Kai. He's really kind of taken my mind off things..."

"I bet," Cho agree with a shrill laugh. "But please, babe, don't forget to mourn while you're at it."

Leaning down, he kissed her. "I won't," he promised.

Relieved for the time being, she smiled and declared; "I need a smoke."

Tyson chuckled.

She giggled.

And for a moment, everything felt normal.

That is, until Kai walked in and asked;

"When are we going to this beyblade studio?"

Looking away from Cho, Ty smiled at the boy. "Let me get freshened up and we can go, alright?"

"Hn." And he wandered away to sit on the couch, toying with a round object between his fingers. Watching him from the entry way into the kitchen, Cho looked to the picture and then to the boy. They were almost identical...except. _Except_. Except the one in the picture's body language screamed how confident and happy was.

The kid in her living room was hunched in on himself and object. He kept looking around like he was waiting for someone to come out of the woodwork and attack him. This one and that one were essentially different people and Cho hated to wonder why that was.

_Who hurt you little Kai? _She wondered.

(Cho wasn't sure she wanted to know)

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><p><strong>And there we are with chapter two. Not quite as long as last, but I'd say it's in the same range...and the rest should be too.<strong>

**What do you think of Cho? Is she a solid character from what little you've seen? Are there any theories you have about Kai yet?**

**To reviewer,vprincesslolitatheorca654; thanks.**

**Thank you all for reading and pretty please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Return**_

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><p>Tyson watched Kai come alive upon entering the training room at the studio. His body language changed from it's almost slouched, enclosed, indifference to a tall, leaning, engaged. His carmine eyes roved over the wide and spacious room, his hands left his pockets - one of them clutching onto Dranzer. Coming up beside the boy, he gave him a small nudge with his elbow.<p>

"Go on," he told the kid. "Try it all out."

Kai looked up at him through his dual-toned bangs. "Will you be joining me?" He inquired.

"In a bit, I have to make a couple calls in my office."

Accepting this, the boy smirked. "Don't think I'll be easy to beat just because I'm a kid!" He declared.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Tyson grinned as he gave the boy one last nudge toward the dishes.

Running off, Kai inspected a few of the colorful ones more closely; he seemed to hesitate between a couple, but then as if flipping a coin in his mind, he launched his beyblade into one of the dishes. Watching the boy and his beyblade for a beat longer, Tyson decided the chance of him running off were minimal enough and he ducked out of the room.

Walking the halls of the studio, he took out his phone and hit two. Cradling the phone between his chin and shoulder, Tyson listened to the sound of ringing for almost a whole minute when-

"Hi?"

Not realizing he tensed, Tyson let out a breath of air and replied; "Hey."

There was a moment of silence and then-

"This is you, right Ty?"

Confused, Tyson answered; "Yeah..."

More silence and then. "Are you...okay?"

"Just dandy, Max!" He snapped. "Why are you talking to me like you don't know what the hell is going on!"

He heard Max sniffle. "I just - shouldn't you be a lump in the middle of your bed crying about gramps and _not _calling me?"

"Aw Maxie," Ty whispered with sympathy. "Is that what you're doing?"

A quiet hiccup drifted over the line. "N-No!" Max grumbled.

"It's okay man," he told his friend. "I'd probably be just like you if it weren't for-"

He stopped.

"Tyson?" His friend questioned at his abrupt end.

Shaking his head, Ty whispered; "I got something really crazy to share with you, but I think you won't believe me unless you see it."

"You want me to _leave _my apartment!?" Max hissed around what had to be a sob.

Tyson leaned against one of the cool brick walls of the beyblade studio and sunk down to the ground. He knew exactly what he was asking. He was asking his best friend to put aside his grief to come see this rather unnerving surprise. Closing his eyes, Ty murmured; "I promise this is _really _big and _really _important, alright? I wouldn't ask you otherwise."

Max hiccups again, but when he spoke next he agreed. "Okay," he breathed, "Okay."

"Awesome," he mumbled. "Can you come to the studio?"

He heard his friend suck in a breath. "Yeah," he consented.

"I'll see you in fifteen, Max," Tyson concluded.

"Bye."

Pocketing his phone then, Ty covered his mouth and took deep breathes. Gramps had always been about helping others. Kai needed help. Not a mess of a guy. He could grieve...later. Maybe at his grandpa's funeral if he could figured out how to call up his dad and brother to wrangle them home in time for it. Feeling hot tears leak out of his eyes despite his best attempt, Tyson rose up and whisked himself off to the bathroom where he cried.

There, he sat in a stall with his knees pulled up and shoes on the toilet seat sobbing into his knees like he was twelve instead of twenty-four going on twenty-five. He wept there for what felt like an hour and then some, but when he finished his sniveling to check the time on his cell he found it'd hardly been eight minutes. Stumbling up from the toilet, he walked out of the stall and Tyson stared at himself in the grungy mirror.

He wasn't a pretty sight. All red and puffy with eyes half-swollen shut. Turning the faucet on with shaking hands, he let cold water dribble out and run over his hot skin. Sneaking another peak at his face, he felt the need to begin crying anew; however he told himself to be a strong adult. Not a weak one. Once Max got here they could split the burden and maybe...maybe he could take a little bit of time to process some stuff and weep a little more, but until then, he needed to act like things were alright.

Kai had to be scared. He'd only end up being more so if he saw that Ty had been sobbing like a little boy.

Finishing up, Tyson looked himself over once more and told himself he couldn't do much else and began the short walk back to the training room. Looking through the glass doors, he saw Kai staring at Dranzer.

He was completely still as the 'blade spun and spun.

Ty wondered what he was thinking about. Was it him? About how he ended up in Japan? What he remember before waking up here? Or maybe he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

Pushing the door open, he watched the boy startle and his gaze snap to him. Carmine eyes were panicked for all of a half-second, then, they turned into a look of puzzlement.

"What happened?" he asked.

Tyson opened his mouth and began "What do you me-"

"I'm here!"

He spun around and tackled his taller friend in a hug. "Maxie!"

Patting his back, Max gently pried Tyson away and looked over him only to gasp "Kai!?"

Turning, Ty saw the boy cross his arms and say "Let me guess, you're like that fatso there; you know me, yet I don't know _you_."

"Kai..."

Carmine eyes flashed. "I'm getting really sick of this, Tyson," the kid declared. "If you don't start giving me some answers quick I might just disappear when you turn your back to go find some of my own!"

Getting up, Ty put up his hands when he saw the boy flinch. Slowly inching forward, he eventually got close enough to put his hand on the kid's skinny shoulders and tell him; "Listen, I promise we're going to find answers for you...but until then, will you just _cool _it!?" He finished in something close to a roar.

Kai yanked himself back, his lips set in a way that spoke of the betrayal he felt. Obviously, he'd been holding a pretty good opinion of Tyson until just about now. He kind of regretted ruining it. Because that opinion had to be better than the one he'd held of Ty when they were both grown.

Max stepping up beside him, smiled at Kai. "Don't mind him, alright?" He told Kai. "He's struggling with stuff-"

"What kind of stuff!?" The boy snapped back vicious and angry.

Tyson shrank back and the American-born beside him sighed. "His grandpa died yesterday," he told Kai. "We're all trying to sort stuff out."

"Last - you -" he shook his head. "And you _still _brought me to your home?" He whispered looking at Tyson with apologetic tilt to his eyebrows.

He chuckled. "Kai," he said, "It wouldn't have mattered if the whole world was ending or if I'd just lost my leg - I'd have taken you home no matter what the circumstances."

"Why?" The kid demanded.

Max and Ty exchanged a look. "We're friends," Tyson shared with Kai. "You don't know it, but once we get this all sorted, you will; okay?"

Kai still looked doubtful, so Max gave the boy's arm a squeeze and mumbled, "trust us."

"I..." he sucked in a shallow breath, "alright."

Their once big, strong, imposing captain seemed to shrink before their very eyes. He was now, completely and utterly human. Even the most independent of people had a point, it seemed, where they caved and accepted help. Musing a little further, Tyson realized Kai to be very frightened and very out of depth to be allowing all of this with so little fight and so few questions.

"Okay!" Ty grinned. "Enough of all this serious stuff! Let's let loose and have ourselves a beybattle!"

The look Max gave him was dubious, but Kai shyly returned his smile with a flickering of his lips. Straightening out, he manhandled Max over to one of his favorite dishes with the kid trailing after them.

Setting Max up on one side, he pointed at Kai and the kid took the opposite side without complaint.

Going to a free-side, Tyson rubbed his hands together and asked "ready guys!?"

"Uh-huh," the American-born replied as he set his feet.

Kai prepared and glaring only muttered "Hn," in response.

Ready to let the world of Beyblade comfort him for just a while, Tyson shouted; "LET IT RIP!"

And he was lost to the thrall of battle.

They all were.

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><p><strong>I've brought in Max now, what do you think? Does he feel Max-like? No? What of Kai? Do you find him believable? Or do you think he should be causing more friction than he is?<strong>

**So...d'you have any thoughts on _this _chapter guys?**

**Thank you for reading everybody and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

_***UNDER CONSTRUCTION***_

My shitty computer screwed up chapter four, I am working on righting this (how silly of me not to keep the past chapter on hand!), but until then, just enjoy what their is!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Return**_

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><p>After coming back to the apartment, Cho was irritated with him for running off and Tyson had to call Max.<p>

"Hey," he said. "I got him."

His friend let out an audible whoosh of air. "Great," he replied. "I'll head back to your place and then we can start figuring out who to call, yeah?"

Tyson nodded even though Max couldn't see him. A moment later when he realized his mistake, he croaked "yeah." And hung up.

Cho, fiddling with a package of cigarettes, glared at him from across the kitchen as Kai drank the cup of coffee Ty had made for him. Shifting so the package disappeared into her sweatshirt pocket, she demanded with a sharp shrill "Well Tyson? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"My friend left and I freaked. I didn't think, alright?" He growled at her as he leaned back against the wall.

She put a hand on her hip and yelled "That's not good enough! How much would time would it have taken you to turn back your head and yell you were going after Kai!? Huh?"

Tyson shook his head and moved his hands around in an incomprehensible around his face before just letting them fall away to sigh his exasperation. What did Cho want?! There wasn't anything to say! "What do you want Cho! I didn't _think_!"

Her chin took up the wrinkles they so often did when she was holding back a sob. Tilting her head so her loose hair fell in front of her face, Cho hunched in on herself and warbled "I thought you were done with all that scary beyblade shit! I thought you said you were going to train kids at the school and we would live a nice, _normal _life just the two of us!"

He made his way around the table and the decidedly uncomfortable Kai to take his girlfriend in his arms and hug her. "Hey Cho," he whispered. "I _am _done with that...but, I'm not turning out my _friend_. I can't do it, you know that. It's not _me_."

Clinging to him, the smell of smoke was much stronger than it had been the night before and Tyson loved her more. He wasn't going to blame her for being so upset. The both of them had lived pretty unconventional lives up until the last five years or so, he a world renowned beyblader, she a mathematical genius who finished college at nineteen (and from the way she ranted sometimes, he knew that her being a kid in college had been _rough_). His beyblade career had been filled with some weird shit right up to the end - and she'd witnessed some of it first hand.

Cho hadn't liked it, the ruthlessness of the sport scared her and she had worried about Ty's safety constantly during his last tournament. There had been a couple instances where he almost got beat up then by some young upstarts who wanted him out of the picture so they could have their go at glory and fame - and that didn't even count in the bribery the news outlets reported going on with the judges. Tyson had gotten pretty shaken by it all. Maybe it had been because he was older, or because Cho's insistence on being aware of everything around them; but it had been in the final rounds of the tournament when the fans cheering didn't feel so amazing that he decided that the tournament would be his last one.

About a month after, his win still fresh in the minds of the people of Japan, Tyson chose to resign from the sport and took to training the next wannabes at one of the many schools that had popped up all over - despite the many calls for him to continue his excellent beyblade career.

"I love you," he whispered.

Fingers almost pinching, she squeezed him hard and murmured back "I love you too."

The apartment door opened and everyone jumped.

Max walked into the kitchen and at the sight of Cho and Tyson, blushed. "Um," he stuttered and his eyes skittered until they found Kai who was staring back at him with a look of not quite pleading desperation (because Kai would _never _plead). "Hey there Kai!" he enthused. "Great to see you're doing okay..." he scratched his chin. "Want to come to the living room with me and find out who we are calling?"

"Yes," Kai agreed - already on his feet.

Together the pair went and Tyson had to chuckle. "I guess Max knows us better than I thought!" he told Cho.

Smiling herself, she leaned against him. "_I'm _not surprised he does! With the amount of time he spends here, you'd think he lives with us some days!"

"Oooh, don't even think that! He's a pig! Every surface of his home covered in junk and garbage!"

Cho poked him in the ribs. "I wouldn't diss him, you were the same until I moved in and whipped you into shape!"

"Are you saying we should set him up with one of your anal attentive friends?" Tyson teased.

She rolled her eyes. "My friends think I'm crazy to be your girlfriend," she countered.

Feeling the fun of their banter beginning to fade, Ty cleared his throat and said "soooo..."

"Go," she sighed. "You need to go and help Max..."

He gave her what he hoped was a winning smile. "You know you're the best girlfriend ever, right?"

"Totally." She smirked as she brushed past to start picking up the table from lunch.

Stepping out, Tyson smiled at Max and Kai who were seated close - but not too close - on the love seat by the front door.

"How's it going?" He asked.

Max glanced up and shrugged. "He keeps asking me _why _I want to call people from _that _country."

"Why would someone in America know how I ended up in Japan?" Kai argued looking very serious.

Tyson smiled as he planted himself on the coffee table in front of the other two. "You'd be surprised, kid, but the beyblame community is highly globalized and connected; someone in America might know more about what's up in Brazil than somebody who's living in Peru. And those two are in the same continent!"

"If you're _really _sure..." Kai relented with grinding teeth.

He grinned and resisted the urge to ruffle the kid's hair. Tyson knew Kai wouldn't appreciate it and probably wouldn't understand it either. He'd never been big on physical contact. Tyson didn't know why, but it was only now that he was beginning to consider why this was. As a kid, he'd just figure that was _Kai _like smiling all the time was just _Max _and being gone was just _dad _and it had all seemed so simple...But now, be was beginning to suspect there was more to it. That Kai's aversion had to do with Russia, or rather, Biovolt.

It kind of made him feel void inside. The way the news sometimes did or when he saw somebody yell at their kid or the time or two a kid at the studio had an unexplainable black eye - from bullies or their parents, it didn't matter. The thought that a person could be so _awful _just made him feel empty and out of control. He didn't like to dwell on that stuff when there were so many _great _things to feel happy about, but this Kai was really bringing stuff up that Tyson had not once cared to think too hard about before.

A hand waved in front of his face, "earth to Ty, earth to Ty..." he batted it away.

"What Maxie?" He grunted.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "I was think we should call Ray first, since, well, _you _know."

"Yeah, alright," Tyson agreed. "Let's just hope he's not working or sleeping or something."

Max nodded as he picked up his phone and hit number five for Ray, they'd know it a minute if Ray had any ideas or if he could come to Japan to help out here; but until then...he was going to _brood_. Brood as Tyson had rarely done before about things he'd never thought about before, but it was going to be okay because it wouldn't suck him down like he'd seen it do to his dad or Ray or even _Kai _because he didn't have the time for it to consumer him.

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><p><strong>Okay, shitty computer has ruined last chapter and I will do my best to resuscitate it, but in the meantime, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Do you have any thoughts on it? Was there anything that stood out in particular to you?<strong>

**Thanks to reviewers, mamute rosa, Purple Dragon Of The Flames, and meroku; you guys rock.**

**To all of you, thank you for reading and please review! **


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